MIDDLESBROUGH // Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United players were accused of sparking an ugly clash in the tunnel in a stormy aftermath to their 3-1 win at Middlesbrough.
United remain in contention for Uefa Champions League qualification after a hard-fought victory on Sunday, which ended with rival players separated by security staff in the tunnel when punches were reportedly thrown.
Middlesbrough captain Ben Gibson and United’s former England midfielder Ashley Young were restrained by teammates as tempers flared.
Mourinho refused to comment, but Middlesbrough caretaker manager Steve Agnew insisted his players were reacting to provocation after a stoppage-time bust-up between United defender Eric Bailly and Rudy Gestede, which initially appeared to include the duo biting each other before replays showed it was only a heated clinch.
__________________________________
Read more
■ Premier League team of the week: Fellaini and Lingard in
■ Diego Forlan: Paul Pogba will be a great player for Manchester United
__________________________________
“I’m picking up there’s something gone on in the tunnel,” Agnew said. “That many bodies were there, it was hard to tell with all the pushing and shoving.
“What triggered it off I don’t know. I’ve got a group of very well behaved players so I can assure you it wouldn’t be one of ours.
“What I would say it would have been a reaction because of the spirit they have.”
Mourinho had inflamed matters before the game by suggesting he "knew the names" of the players he claimed had been responsible for the departure of Aitor Karanka, his former Real Madrid assistant who was sacked as Middlesbrough manager last week.
The Portuguese headed down the tunnel at the final whistle without acknowledging his opposite number, though Agnew confirmed the pair had shaken hands in the tunnel afterwards.
“Was this justice for Karanka?” Mourinho said after seeing his side extend their 18-game unbeaten league run to end a 19-week stay in sixth by climbing to fifth, two points ahead of Arsenal and Everton.
“I think justice for Karanka is the work he did here, people can never delete that. He took the club form the brink of League One to the Premier League.
“I know what I’m saying, he could have left for a bigger club and yet he stayed, then in the end he loses his job.
“Despite all that’s happened, I still think he’ll be unhappy we have won, because he wants this club to stay in the Premier League.”
Middlesbrough’s hopes of achieving that aim look increasingly slim after an 11-game three-month run without a league win.
They at least ended their lengthy goal drought as Gestede pounced on a mistake by Chris Smalling to halve the arrears.
Hopes of salvaging an unlikely draw to chip away at the five-point gap to safety faced by a side currently second from bottom were extinguished by Victor Valdes’s stoppage-time slip which allowed Antonio Valencia to walk the ball into an unguarded net.
Goals either side of half time from Marouane Fellaini and Jesse Lingard had put the visitors in control.
“It’s a big win that keeps us alive in the competition for fourth place,” Mourinho said.
Given their presence in the Europa League, United retain two potential avenues to next season’s Champions League, and Mourinho added: “Do I prefer to qualify for the Champions League by finishing fourth or winning Europa League? I prefer Europa League. There’s a prestige to winning a trophy.”
“To push Manchester United all the way is something I was really pleased with,” added Agnew, who has had no assurances as to the length of his temporary tenure beyond Middlesbrough’s next game at Swansea City at the start of next month.
“It’s a display that gives us hope for the future and I’ve seen enough of these players to know we’re more than capable of winning games.”
* Agence France-Presse
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Movie: Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster 3
Producer: JAR Films
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill, Chitrangda Singh, Kabir Bedi
Rating: 3 star
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
